Dexter: Early Cuts

Photo from Morg@n via Dexter Wiki

Dexter is the single most important reason to order Showtime.  Weeds and Californication used be good shows but they suck now.  Dexter has maintained its solid writing, great acting and phenomenal storyline for the past three seasons.  I’m happy to say that this fourth season is no different.  We’re only a few episodes in so you definitely have time to catch up. But hurry before it’s too late: the plot is already as thick as a roll of cellophane wrapped around a body on a table.

Dexter, for those of you who don’t know, is the story of a benevolent serial killer named Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall).  The show and its characters are based on a series of novels written by Jeff Lindsay.

Dexter is a sociopath who, at an early age, began feeling the urge to kill things.  This urge was discovered by his father Harry (James Remar).  Instead of locking Dexter away, Harry taught Dexter a code—called “Harry’s Code”—which would help Dexter stay out of jail and rid the world of bad people.  Harry helped Dexter channel his urge and turn it into something good.  So now, as a blood-spatter specialist for the Miami police department, Dexter hides in plain sight and has access to police files where he can find his victims.

But now you can enjoy some of the brilliance that is Dexter even if you don’t have Showtime.  A new series of animated webisodes called Dexter: Early Cuts has just hit Showtime’s website.  The webisodes focus on three of Dexter’s earliest kills and the process he went through to master his craft.  So far there are two chapters available that begin the story of Dexter and a blood-thirsty sniper named Alex Timmons.  Dexter only kills bad guys and Timmons is murdering innocent people using sniper skills that he honed in the military.  Dexter decides it’s time for Timmons to stop.

The episodes look and sound great! Michael C. Hall voices Dexter’s inner monologues that fans have come to know and love.  Each storyline is drawn by a different artist and carries their individual artistic impression of Dexter’s world.